THEY are the Government’s new secret weapon to stop the boats: comic books.

News.com.au has learned this picture-based novel, written in the dominant Afghan languages Dari and Pashto, has been distributed overseas as part of an effort to discourage asylum seekers from coming to Australia by boat.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the book was distributed under the Abbott and Rudd governments.

He said the book was originally developed and distributed under the Rudd administration.

It has an emotional plotline.

Meet our protagonist. He’s an asylum seeker. He lives in squalor and works as a mechanic.

Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

He dreams of new beginnings. Perth, in particular.

Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

The lead character pays to flee his country.

And has a tearful goodbye. Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

He flies to another nation.

Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

And he meets up with a stranger. That person, who we assume is a people smuggler, shows him a photograph of a boat.

Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

With a worried look in his eyes, he boards a crowded vessel headed for Australia.